Requesting explanation of downvotes is among the things the policy against discussion of the votes on a post is directed at, and, IMO, also demonstrates a fundamental failure to understand (or respect) the purpose of downvotes, which is about managing signal-to-noise ratio by, among other things, not polluting threads with meta-level discussion (abd invariably debates) of why a particular comment is (or is not) inappropriate.
I have 11,659 karma. I'm not bragging but that means I have a pretty good understanding and respect for the purpose of downvotes (because I learn from them how to make more upvotes). Nothing is being polluted here, just a reasonable request for clarification (for example I would love to learn that I was factually wrong!). I'm guessing the downvote signal was actually somebody agreeing with me and showing displeasure with the problem, or believing I was technically incorrect, or gauche to be pointing out the problem in the first place.
